


so that concludes today, the thing you didn't ask for, once again I'm your host, tired as fuck

by iceice_ty



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Radio, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Past Suh Youngho | Johnny/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27134648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceice_ty/pseuds/iceice_ty
Summary: Lee Donghyuck runs the popular late-night radio show, "Haechan Radio." Jaemin seems like he’ll be a good intern. This will be a good semester, Hyuck thinks. Of course the universe justlovesto prove Donghyuck wrong.NTF#075
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 63
Collections: nct title fest 2020





	so that concludes today, the thing you didn't ask for, once again I'm your host, tired as fuck

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the prompter (and everyone else) enjoys this fic! I first saw the prompt and totally fell in love, and I'm really happy to put this one out there into the universe. Hope you enjoy!

🎧

Lee Donghyuck is fully prepared for an ordinary Wednesday night as he walks into the radio building. He checks the time on his phone, 9:14 pm, and sighs in relief before taking the left-hand turn towards the vending machines. He feeds two dollars into the machine, curses when the second rejects three times before being greedily sucked in. Hyuck selects B15, the chemical aftertaste of the Redbull ghosting along his tongue. The machine spits the can out into the dispensing box and Hyuck sighs as he pulls it out, tapping on the lid and angling the can away from himself as he pops the tab. It only foams over a little and Hyuck gets away with wiping it away on his index and middle fingers and licking the sticky residue away.

Donghyuck turns around, fingers still in his mouth, and comes face-to-face with a beautiful stranger. Hyuck jerks in surprise, yanking his hand out of his mouth violently and the boy yelps, dropping the binder in his arms. The can of Redbull sloshes and droplets hit the ground, nearly missing the fallen binder. 

“Oh my god, shit, I’m sorry” Hyuck apologizes, scrambling to help the boy pick up the binder. The boy waves him off easily with a wide smile and they both stand. Hyuck stares at the boy in front of him, lips parting in surprise. He’s absolutely gorgeous, with candy-pink hair and a huge grin between pink lips. Hyuck blinks sharply before smiling back and extending a hand. “Hey, I’m Donghyuck. I’m the host of _Haechan Radio_. Most people call me Haechan or Hyuck.” He put on the effect of the cutesy voice he uses to introduce his show as he said the title, mostly out of habit. The boy across from him laughs, hiding his wide chuckle behind a hand. He shifts the binder to his left so he can meet Donghyuck’s handshake.

“Hi. I’m Jaemin. I’m the new intern for the radio station.” The boy-Jaemin-shakes his hand firmly, but friendly. Hyuck is pretty sure it says something about Jaemin that he has such a good handshake. Johnny would know if it meant something. Hyuck makes a mental note to ask Johnny later and then refocuses on the conversation. He needs to make a good impression, after all, he couldn’t be zoning out on the prettiest intern the station had ever had since, well, himself. 

“It’s nice to meet you Jaemin! I like your hair.” Hyuck compliments with a slight gesture at the Jaemin’s hair and Jaemin beams. Hyuck thinks his heart stops momentarily.

“Thanks! I’ve had it this pink or blonde so long I think I’ve forgotten what healthy black hair looks like on me.” he jokes, and Donghyuck absentmindedly reaches up to his own auburn-brown hair. He probably should deep condition it this weekend, it is starting to get a little brittle.

“I know the feeling,” he replies. Hyuck decides that he could sit and stare at Jaemin’s very wide smile all day. Alas, he sees the clock over Jaemin’s shoulder is creeping towards 9:30, and if he’s late to the pre-show brief Renjun-- his showrunner and the floor manager-- would murder him. “Well, it’s been really nice to meet you Jaemin, but I gotta run. Shows starting soon and I don’t want to die at the tiny, tiny hands of Huang Renjun today.” 

Jaemin looks away for a second, eyes narrowing as he visibly flips through a mental index of people he likely met today. Then his eyes light up and Hyuck tries to suppress a smirk. “Oh! The kinda short guy with pastel hair but seems like he’d commit murder and get away with it? Yeah, he’s my temporary supervisor until I’m assigned a show or department!” Jaemin exclaims and Donghyuck laughs. 

“Well, just don’t call him short to his face and we won’t have to test that murder theory.” Hyuck throws a wink at Jaemin, who smiles and waves, calling out a “see you later!” as Hyuck speedwalks down the hall. Jaemin seems like he’ll be a good intern. This will be a good semester, Hyuck thinks to himself.

🎧

Jaemin ends up getting assigned to Donghyuck’s floor, after two weeks interning on several different nights for multiple shows, and it’s both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he gets to see Jaemin’s beautiful, smiling face at least twice a week (although they meet up practically every day, the safety net is still nice, okay?) It’s a curse, however, because between Renjun and Johnny and Jaehyun he can’t catch a break from the teasing. And like, fair, the last time Donghyuck really had a crush on someone it was Johnny last year, and he made a right fool of himself trying to impress the older student. Johnny still clowns him for it to this day. 

But it’s different with Jaemin. They have a lot of mutual friends, some class overlap, and just generally click. Hyuck doesn’t want to _impress_ him, per say, but it wouldn’t hurtif Jaemin occasionally saw him as slightly less of the disaster he can be. It started with their first meeting, Hyuck nearly tackling an unsuspecting Jaemin, and Donghyuck foolishly believed that would be the worst of it. But alas, he can’t win and Jaemin is assigned to his floor.. 

Jaemin’s first night starts pretty well. They grab a late coffee together in the afternoon, Donghyuck telling bad jokes and making fun of Renjun (who ditched them to work sound with Jeno, the crushing nerd) the whole while. He’s honestly running out of material, but seeing Jaemin light up and break down into a fit of cackling is worth the struggle of thinking up witty things to say. It’s going well and Hyuck thinks that this time is different, it won’t be a repeat of Johnny. 

Of course the universe just _loves_ to prove Donghyuck wrong. 

The pre-show brief goes fine, Jaemin is incredibly helpful, passing Hyuck his script and a highlighter. He also jumps at any chance to help Renjun or their new sound guy, Jeno, who apparently is Jaemin’s roommate. Hyuck only drops the highlighter twice, both times because Jaemin sends a smile his way, eyes bright and head tilting slightly to the side. He looks like an adorable pink puppy and Hyuck can’t feel his fingertips. Each time the marker drops with a flurry of motion and awkward stillness to follow. Jaemin picks it up regardless and hands it back to Hyuck with a giggle, who fights the urge to clutch at his chest. 

Then they started recording. 

Donghyuck is proud of his hosting capabilities. He solo-hosts a popular radio host, often with different guests, from teachers to athletes. He never misses a beat no matter what answers are thrown his way and his ratings have skyrocketed recently. But Jaemin pops his head in during the ad break and Hyuck loses focus talking to him and misses the start of the next segment. He catches Renjun rolling his eyes. 

Hyuck has never minded the glass window across from where he records before. Usually, he just pulls faces at Renjun through it. But there’s something about Jaemins eyes watching his every move that heats Donghyuck’s skin, leaves his cheeks pink. Donghyuck stutters over his words when Jaemin sends him a thumbs up after a segment and loses his place in the script countless times. The evening is a verified disaster. Johnny and Jaehyun come into the room just to laugh at him as soon as the “live” light flickers off. 

The next two shows are the same. Jaemin now works on Donghyuck’s floor but isn’t allowed in the room during air anymore. When Jaemin finds this out during a pre-show meeting, he finds Hyuck’s eyes and has the audacity to smirk. Butterflies swarm Hyuck’s stomach. 

🎧

Honestly, the worst part of Jaemin being assigned to his floor is that Jaemin spends more time with himself and Renjun, which means he was quickly folded into their little group. It turned out that Renjun’s favorite classmate (and crush but shhh) Jeno, is Jaemin’s roommate and now they have joined the regular study/hang-outs that Hyuck, Renjun, and Jisung and Chenle have. It always works out well, their personalities balance well together. 

The downside to all the togetherness is that Jisung and Chenle have never, not once, backed down from an opportunity to tease Hyuck to hell and back. It took approximately, oh let’s say 2 minutes, for the devil duo to lock in on Hyuck’s “painfully, pitifully obvious” crush on Jaemin. (Their words. Hyuck disagrees, he thinks he's being _very_ subtle.) They’re hanging out in the library today (on one of the social floors, they aren’t heathens they know they’re loud) and Hyuck is in a good mood. Jeno works at the closest boba shop off-campus and they convinced him to bring them drinks when he got off his shift. The best benefit of being best friends with a boba employee: employee friend discount + free delivery. (Okay not really free because they all Venmo Jeno full price for their drinks anyway, so he makes a profit) So when Jeno enters their floor, arms full with two bags of drinks, a quiet cheer erupts from their corner. Hyuck and Renjun had gotten to the library first and had claimed what was, in Hyuck’s opinion, the best spot in the whole library. It’s a collection of plush chairs and a couch arranged in a pentagon around a coffee table. The chairs have desk attachments and the coffee table has an outlet hub. Truly a college student’s paradise. Jaemin is sitting in the chair next to Donghyuck, and he tries not to be too excited about it. Jaemin doesn’t always tag along with them to the library, preferring to get his work done in a silent study cubicle. Spending some extra time together today is a little bit of a treat. 

Jeno sets the drinks down on the table with a large sigh. “Okay you leeches,” he starts dropping his backpack onto the couch, where Renjun had saved him a spot. He pulls the drinks out one by one, handing them to the appropriate person. “First up, Jisung here you go; oolong milk tea, no sugar and grass jelly.” Jisung stretches an arm out lazily, covering a distance most normal-sized people would have to stand or lean to cover. He mumbles a ‘thanks’ as he takes his drink and straw. “Next up; peach tea, 30 sugar, aloe, peach jelly, and crystal bubbles, Chenle that’s yours.” Jeno hands it to him and Chenle practically bounces. Hyuck always thinks Chenle’s drink is more toppings than anything, but that’s just how Chenle is. Jeno pulls the next drink out and doesn’t even read it, just passes it to Renjun. “Pond scum for you,” he says, almost sickeningly sweet. How neither of them has confessed yet is beyond Hyuck. Jaemin looks up from his laptop with a sharp jerk. 

“I’m sorry, what?!” Renjun cackles a little, stabbing his straw through the lid of his drink. 

“It’s what we all call my order. Green tea, no sugar, grass jelly, basil seeds, and aloe. It’s an acquired taste.” Jaemin’s eyes bug a little and they all laugh.

“Dude, Renjun, you’re like the best manager ever, but that sounds disgusting,” Jaemin says and Renjun just shrugs. Jeno pulls out a milk tea and reads the label before glancing at Jaemin. 

“Big words from someone who ordered a green milk tea, full sugar, with bubbles.” Jeno levels a _look_ at Jaemin, who mimics Renjun’s shrug. 

“What can I say, I need the sugar. Besides I hardly ever get boba, so it’s a go big or go home kinda thing, you know?” Jaemin asks while taking the cup from Jeno and piercing the top with his straw. Donghyuck can’t tell if that alone cured him of his crush. Then he remembers something. 

“Jaemin?” he starts and Jaemin turns to face him. Hyuck loses his train of thought for a second, Jaemin just looks so cute with his big sparkly eyes and straw pressing against what looks like potentially soft lips. Hyuck blinks hard and continues. “Don’t you have like five shots of espresso in the morning?” 

Jaemin nods. “Yup! Used to be eight but then Johnny convinced me that five would taste better.” Dead silence falls over their group. It’s broken by a quiet ‘what the fuck’ from Jisung, which results in a head slap from Renjun sitting next to him and a scandalized gasp from Jaemin, who’s practically adopted Jisung at this point. “What?” Jaemin asks, looking at Hyuck. “What did I say?”

Donghyuck, to be quite honest, isn’t quite sure where to start. It’s a good thing Renjun has all the brain cells in their friend group because he pipes up. 

“It’s the combination of five shots of espresso plus that,” he waves a finger at Jaemin’s tea, “monstrosity compounded with the image of you drinking eight fucking shots of espresso. The fact that you only stopped because Johnny said something probably broke Hyuck’s heart a little too.” Renjun adds on at the end with a smirk. Fuck Huang Renjun, best friend status revoked. Donghyuck says as much aloud and Jeno shoots him a dirty look while making a show of withholding Hyuck’s tea. Renjun just levels a look at Donghyuck, no words needed. 

Jaemin turns to Hyuck again, eyebrows furrowed. “Why would it break your heart? Johnny knows like everything about coffee?” Hyuck stammers through a response, but he still hears Chenle’s quiet ‘great, they’re both idiots’ to Jisung. But the commotion eventually dies down and they all settle into their seats, chatting amongst themselves and doing homework, with the occasional slurp of someone drinking their boba. The afternoon passes quickly, time running like droplets down a glass, blurring and collecting. At some point, Jaemin dozes off, his head against Hyuck’s shoulder. It’s a good afternoon. 

🎧

Writing meetings are possibly Donghyuck’s second-favorite part of working at the radio station. He loved them as a freshman, an assistant and weekly guest on Johnny and Jaehyun’s show, because he could throw ideas around with the same weight as any member of the station. And while he doesn’t know for sure, Hyuck is pretty sure some of the bits he scripted is what got him his own slot this year, now that Chungha’s graduated and the Wednesday 10 pm slot was open. 

Writing meetings are just plain fun. Once a month all the station’s show hosts and their interns get together to script new bits for each show. It often devolves into a free-for-all roast and Donghyuck feels right at home. Or rather, he usually does. But tonight is Jaemin’s first writing meeting and Hyuck finds himself feeling….nervous? He knows Johnny is gonna make a side comment about how red Hyuck gets when interacting with his assistant and Jaehyun will ask if Hyuck has had Jaemin guest host. Plus Renjun never gives up a chance to “take Donghyuck down a peg” (his words) so if he reacts at all to their teasing Renjun will lock on and Jaemin will _definitely_ know Hyuck has a crush on him. Donghyuck takes a deep breath, standing outside the writing room, collects his thoughts and feelings, and pushes the door open. 

Johnny, Jaehyun, their new assistant Jisung, and their floor manager Doyoung are all already sitting around the oversized circular table. Heechul, the senior graduate student who runs the entire radio station is also already there. He greets Hyuck with a big smile and goes back to talking to another one of the producers, a female grad student Hyuck doesn’t quite remember the name of. Sooyoung, maybe? It was S- something, he remembers that much. Johnny shouts out a greeting and Donghyuck takes the seat next to him, Jaehyun on Johnny’s other side. 

“Hyuck! Feels like it’s been forever!” Johnny is… loud. Always reminds Hyuck of a labrador puppy, excited and oversized, but endearing nonetheless. Jaehyun smiles widely and reaches out to Hyuck for a fist bump. 

“Hyuckie! Good to see you.” Donghyuck smiles at both of his friends. As much as he loves having his own show, he does miss working with the two older students. Even after his failed friends with benefits fling with Johnny, they stayed close. Jisung gives a small wave, barely looking up from his game on his phone. Hyuck snorts quietly. 

Hey guys, missed you too. And hi there, Jisungie~” he teases gently. While they were greeting each other, the room had been filling up, and Donghyuck realizes Renjun and Jaemin had slipped into the seats next to him. He startles when Renjun claps a hand on his shoulder. 

“Nice to see you love us so much,” Renjun drawls and Donghyuck fights off his hand, slapping it away. “Were you too busy talking to your boyfriend to notice the rest of your staff was here?” Renjun smirks and Donghyuck’s heart falls out of his ass. Jaemin, who had been smiling brightly at Hyuck, furrows his brows, smile dimming a little. 

“You have a boyfriend?” he asks in a quiet voice. Hyuck opens his mouth, the only sounds coming out a stuttering mess. 

“Uh, no, well I mean no-” He’s saved by a gwauffing laugh from Johnny and snickers from Jaehyun. 

“Nah, Hyuckie here liked me last year, and we hooked up a few times but we’re just friends now. Besides I have a girlfriend now.” Johnny explains. Jaemin sighs a little, making Johnny chuckle. “Worried about my competition, Jaem?” Johnny smirks and the boy in question colors as pink as his hair.

“Of course not! I could totally win Hyuck over if I wanted to, right Hyuck?” he asks and Donghyuck blinks for a moment, at a loss for words. Renjun kicks him under the table and Hyuck jolts forward. 

“Of course!” Hyuck winces at the pitch of his voice, he sounds exactly as nervous as he feels, great. “I’m sure you’d make an excellent suitor.” Donghyuck doesn’t even realize the words spilling unbidden from his mouth until Renjun, Johnny, and Jaehyun burst into loud laughter. Renjun is hunching over the table and Jaehyun is wiping away small tears. 

“Really, Hyuckie? You want Jaemin to court you like you’re a Victorian lady in search of marriage?” Johnny ribs, and if there were a God they would smite Donghyuck _right this second_. But alas Hyuck’s atheistic beliefs are once again confirmed because he’s still sitting in the writing room, staring at Jaemin, who is staring back at Hyuck. There’s a moment of tension, air thick between them. Hyuck can hear Renjun and Jaehyun talking over his head but their words are white noise as he and Jaemin just...stare. Jaemin licks his lips slowly and Hyuck’s eyes follow the motion as they part, about to speak when the spell is broken by Heechul clapping his hands loudly. Jaemin jumps in his seat before he breaks eye contact first and turns to focus on Heechul. Donghyuck feels something akin to disappointment but focuses on what their director is saying as well. Under the table, Renjun squeezes Hyuck’s knee in sympathy. 

🎧

Hyuck swipes the rollerball over his wrists, temples, and behind his ears, hoping the mix of lavender and patchouli would calm the pounding migraine behind his right eye. Or maybe just relax him enough that he could take a nap right here on the broadcasting desk before he had to go on air. Really he’ll take anything at this point. His assignments have been piling up more and more recently, to the point that Hyuck can’t even remember the last full night of sleep he had. He rests his head on folded arms on the desk and prays that Renjun will see his sorry state and skip the pre-air brief. Honestly, Hyuck has been doing this long enough (3 whole semesters!!) he can read a script on the fly--he doesn’t need the half-hour meeting before each show to have a successful one. 

Donghyuck is most of the way asleep, brain soupy and zoned out, when he hears the door to the recording studio open. He lets out a loud groan, hoping to convey his agony to whoever is interrupting him. He prepares to curse Renjun out when he feels a warm hand brush his shoulder and then fingers running through his hair. Hyuck lets out a soft moan as the fingers massage his scalp, right where the pain was building. “Headache?” a deep voice asks and it takes Hyuck a moment to place it. When he does he tenses up, but before he can jerk upright Jaemin’s hand presses against his shoulder, keeping him down. 

“Don’t sit up, it’ll make it worse. Also, I just turned the filming lights on, they’ll hurt your eyes. Keep down for a second and I’ll dim them.” Donghyuck nods and then Jaemin’s hands leave him. Hyuck fights back a whimper of unhappiness, he liked Jaemin’s hands on him. Wait. No, not like that, getting his mind out of the gutter now. Before Hyuck can spiral too far, Jaemin returns. This time his warm fingers dig firmly into the muscles of Donghyuck’s neck and he lets out a quiet moan. “A little better?” Jaemin asks and Donghyuck summons the energy to respond. 

“Mhm. Feels nice.” Jaemin snorts behind him, the air ruffling the back of Hyuck’s hair. He’s closer than Hyuck had estimated. Donghyuck’s heart is racing now, he’s almost worried that Jaemin can hear it, because it sounds too loud in his own ears. 

“Do you know what caused it?’ Jaemin asks, voice still low, close to Hyuck’s ear. Hyuck nods slightly. “Probably a combination of stress and too much caffeine the past couple days. I only had one coffee this morning.” Jaemin chuckles. 

“Ah the life of a uni kid. Where one coffee is grounds for a caffeine migraine.” The teasing is gentle and Donghyuck is slowly becoming boneless in his crappy office chair. Jaemin has yet to stop massaging around his neck and scalp and the relief it brings is palpable. Hyuck lets out a quiet moan when Jaemin presses against a knot in his neck and the headache notably lessens. A flash of hot shame and embarrassment warms his cheeks and he’s about to pull away when Jaemin lets out a dark chuckle. 

“Like that, do you?” Jaemin whispers, lips brushing his ear, and Hyuck wonders if the sudden blood rush to his head will make his headache go away. 

“Take me out and you can find out.” Donghyuck replies, not fully thinking through his words. There’s a pregnant pause and Hyuck scrambles to think of an apology. His racing mind is silenced by a quick squeeze of his neck by Jaemin. Hyuck turns his head slightly to meet Jaemin’s eyes and feels gut-punched by the smile that stretches across Jaemin’s face. 

“Take you out, huh?” Jaemin asks, fingers gently stroking the base of Hyuck’s neck, tracing the top of his spine. Donghyuck is almost positive Jaemin is drawing this out on _purpose_ , the little shit. “Yeah, I guess that’s worth it to find out.” Hyuck sighs in relief and slaps Jaemin’s thigh simultaneously, startling a loud chuckle from Jaemin. He presses his lips to the crown of Hyuck’s head, squeezing his neck once more in apology. Donghyuck feels lighter now, happier. And his headache is receding, willed away by the magical hands of Na Jaemin, who is taking him on a date. 

“Hey Jaem, how long till I’m on air?” Hyuck asks, mischief creeping into his tone, turning his chair slowly so he’s facing Jaemin. Who looks really good today, Hyuck notices. Light grey crewneck sweatshirt over a striped turtleneck. It made his hair stand out more and Hyuck is willing to bet that turtleneck is Jaemin’s CDG one, even if he can’t see the heart logo. Jaemin glances at the clock on the wall over Hyuck’s head. 

“Uh, a little over thirty. And I texted Renjun when I came in so there’s no pre-brief today either. Why? Is your head that bad?” Jaemin asks, and his brows have drawn so close in worry Hyuck reaches out to take Jaemin’s warm, soft hands. 

“Actually, my head feels a lot better. Probably thanks to someone’s magical hands,” he smirks before pressing a long kiss to Jaemin’s right knuckles. Jaemin’s cheeks flush a little and his smile is soft and private when Hyuck tugs him a little closer until Jaemin is standing in between Hyuck’s legs. Donghyuck pulls Jaemin down and flicks his gaze between Jaemin’s pink, _pink_ lips and his eyes. Jaemin let’s out a breathy chuckle. 

“Kiss me Hyuck,” he starts, sliding even closer, their noses brushing. Hyuck swallows.

“Always.” He sighs out before pressing their lips together. There aren’t any fireworks, but Hyuck can feel his heart racing in his chest and a peasant warmth is slowly spreading through his abdomen. He slides his hands up Jaemin’s forearms and around his waist, squeezing the narrow bend in Jaemin’s body. 

Jaemin groans lowly against Hyuck’s lips and they part slowly for a breath. Hyuck slowly becomes aware of how tightly they are clinging to each other. Jaemin lets out a breathy laugh and leans in to press a quick peck to Hyuck’s lips. 

“I’ve liked you since you almost doused me in Redbull,” he admits softly, running his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair. Hyuck giggles. 

“What a coincidence? I’ve liked you since you slammed into me and my precious Redbull,” he teases, lips splitting into what must be such a dopey grin. At the back of his mind Hyuck is aware of the ticking minutes, aware of the fact that someone is going to walk in any second now to start the show. It’ll probably be Renjun, and the floor manager will shout about how traumatized he is now. But Hyuck can’t find it in himself to care as he tugs Jaemin into his lap and closes the gap between them again and again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Please kudos, comment, and follow me on twt @iceice_ty if you enjoyed!


End file.
